The Transformative Essence of Liminality: Pilgrimage and the Example of St. Francis of Assisi

Looking at the life of St. Francis of Assisi (1181/2–1226) through the lens of liminality can help to understand this complex figure. Anthropologist Victor Turner, for example, has explored Francis’s embrace of poverty as a means of experiencing liminality and the communitas that accompanies it. Three episodes in the life of Francis in particular constitute liminal experiences in that Francis left behind old ways of being, crossed thresholds, and experienced transformation: his encounter with lepers, his renunciation of possessions and coinciding embrace of poverty, and his encounter with Sultan Malik al-Kamil. Understanding these episodes as liminal experiences not only helps one to understand Francis’ actions and choices but also provides insight for modern pilgrims to Assisi, Italy, who gain inspiration to embrace their own liminal experiences and arrive at new perspectives into how they, too, might experience transformation by embracing those on the margins of society, finding meaning in life beyond consumerism, and viewing life as pilgrimage that involves encountering those who are very different from themselves.